Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Three nuclear weapons constitute a second Holocaust. Enemies are explicit in their desire to destroy us. We are sleepwalking through this as if diplomatic engagement will create a fiesta where we will all love one another," Newt Gingrich, Former US Speaker of the House of Representatives, told the Herzliya conference on Tuesday via satellite.

According to Gingrich, "Israel is facing the greatest danger for its survival since the 1967 victory. Israel maintained its dominance since 1967 even after the 1973 failure. In 1984 I wrote that WMD and terrorism would pose a threat for US national security. If two or three cities are destroyed because of terrorism both the US and Israel's democracy will be eroded and both will become greater dictatorial societies."

"We lack the language and goals to address the new environment along with the speed and intensity to counter the contemporary threats. If we have no strategy we will need to be intellectually honest to consider the next step once two cities have been destroyed. My grandchildren are in greater danger than I was throughout the Cold War.

"What stages are you in Israel going to take if tomorrow morning Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv would be destroyed? Similarly the US needs to consider what policies it would advance if in twenty-four hours, Atlanta, Boston and San Francisco were destroyed. These threats will become even more imminent in two or five years time," he added.

Gingrich believes the US should have as an explicit goal - regime change in Iran. "In 2006 even the Department of State which seeks to deny the nature of reality, noted that Iran is a leading sponsor of terror. What I need is something that will be similar to Reagan's Replacement strategy in Iran. The current unrest in Iran will facilitate this," he said.

The former House Speaker concluded by calling on the Department of Homeland Security to conduct two nuclear exercises and one biological exercise in major cities such as Philadelphia or Dallas. "This has to be carried out to determine how many causalities would occur and whether hospitals could accommodate the casualties."